The blessing of stolen moments. The past few months have been strange and different. Life was put on pause. Work, school, and events were canceled. Lives have been lost. Injustices have been brought to light. And in the midst of all of this, I discovered I was blessed with time with my children.
Last night, I went on a brief after-dinner walk. As we were making our way back to our home, my son’s girlfriend asked, when was the last time you had the chance to spend time with your oldest two children.
I thought about it because there have been times over the past 25 years where I have had one-on-one time with just the two of them. As a parent, most of the time we spend with our children end after they graduate from high school. So time spent with adult children is increasingly rare.
Just time with my oldest two, I might have to reach back to 1998, the year my third child was born.
It is times like this, through all the hardship, I realize there have been pockets of blessings.
Spending a prolonged time with adult children is something to be thankful for. Especially since my son lives in Wisconsin.
To have been given the time to spend and hang out with him while remote works have been fun. It is also interesting to see how much of his dad I see in him. And in his most stubborn moments, just how much of me he has in him!
It is good to see his work ethic. He gets up and heads to his computer to work each day. He has remote meetings, and some days works well past dinner time.
I have also spent time with my daughter.
We have cleaned, cooked, went on walks, and spent some days floating in the lake. We have had talks about life, the virus, work, and racial injustices.
We are not solving the world’s problems by any means, but the talks and time spent with her are precious.
She was furloughed during the pandemic and may be heading back to work soon. So I know each moment of living with her is precious.
In truth, my son could be called back to his office to work any day as well. So, I know each of these moments is to be treasured.
I wish this pandemic had never happened. I hurt for people who have lost family and friends. I worry about people who have lost their jobs and businesses. But I will also say with my whole heart that the stolen moments I have been given as a mom, being able to live under one roof with my four children, will always be a blessing.
Know, I will continue to pray for healing for those who are sick. I pray for an end to the pandemic. I also pray you may find your own stolen moments you were given.
Blessings –